


ThunderClan boarding school: just another Warriors highschool AU

by Juniperboy



Category: Warriors - Erin Hunter
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, F/M, Gen, Human Warrior Cats (Warriors), M/M, RiverClan (Warriors), ShadowClan (Warriors), StarClan (Warriors), The Prophecies Begin: Book 1: Into the Wild, The Prophecies Begin: Book 2: Fire and Ice, The Prophecies Begin: Book 3: Forest of Secrets, The Prophecies Begin: Book 4: Rising Storm, The Prophecies Begin: Book 5: A Dangerous Path, The Prophecies Begin: Book 6: The Darkest Hour, ThunderClan (Warriors), WindClan (Warriors)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-07
Updated: 2021-01-13
Packaged: 2021-03-17 16:21:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,806
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28602867
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Juniperboy/pseuds/Juniperboy
Summary: Warrior Cats, but they're high schoolers! And human! Follows the main plot loosely with some differences here and there. (credit to Basement Cat's warriors highschool headcanons!)
Relationships: Barley/Ravenpaw (Warriors), Firestar/Graystripe (Warriors), Firestar/Sandstorm (Warriors), Graystripe/Silverstream (Warriors), Leafpool/Mothwing (Warriors)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 12





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> I know I disappeared for a bit after I abandoned my boomerang fic, but I'm back now! Though most of my content will be centered around warrior cats. I understand if you don't wish to stick around, but it'd mean a lot if you did!

Bluestar usually didn’t smoke. Not at school, anyways. However, desperate times called for desperate measures, and she needed some sort of stress reliever in order to endure the rest of the day. 

“What? How could they--” Bluestar sat at her desk; the administration had given it to her after she became class president. They said it was for her to do strictly ThundercCan Boarding School, or TBS, related business at. But really, she just used it in her free time. 

“Yes, I _know_ we can’t afford any more casualties,” she ran a hand through her long, dyed-blue hair anxiously. “Has the fight been broken up?” Crookedstar’s voice rang through the other line, clear as a bell, assuring her that the fight was over. While the two boarding schools were supposed to be rivals, RiverClan and ThunderClan tended to work together when their respective students tended to get into trouble with each other. This instance was no different.   
Spottedleaf, the student nurse, burst into the student council room right as Bluestar was about to ask whether or not the dispute was over for good. Upon seeing Spottedleaf, she quickly snuffed out her cigarette and muttered in a hushed voice, “I have to go, but we must talk later.”

When she hung up, Spottedleaf was standing directly in front of her desk, first aid supplies in hand, a worried look plastered across her face. 

“Bluestar, I don’t...I don’t know how much longer we can go on fighting the Riverclan students. They were able to take full control of the skate park, and some of our students were hurt.”

“Any serious injuries?” Bluestar asked, sincerity shining in her eyes.

Spottedleaf shook her head, her bob swaying at her chin. She had recently dyed it black, though it had come out quite unevenly, leaving some spots of brown and blonde showing. “Thankfully, no. Just a few black eyes and a sprained wrist. Nothing I can’t handle.”

“Of course not.” Bluestar tried to force a smile, tried to push away the looming thought of another one of the students being strangled, shot, or stabbed. “Don’t worry, we’ll take control of the skate park again soon enough. They can enjoy it while they have it. Besides, we both know it’s rightfully ours anyways. They’ll tire of it and let us back there within a year, I’m sure.”

Spottedleaf nodded, a small smile forming on her face. She turned to leave, though she only took a few steps towards the door before a gasp hitched in her throat and she turned back around. “Bluestar, I almost forgot to tell you! StarClan spoke to me today.”

StarClan hardly spoke to anyone, though they preferred the nurses over the rest of the students. No one quite knew why. It was strange, really, how the adults running the school really only helped by delivering ominous words of advice to a select few people. Sometimes, Bluestar wondered if this was all just a cult.

“Really? What did they say?”

“Well, they said that fire would save our school.”

“What?” Bluestar looked at her incredulously. Didn’t Starclan know that a year ago the school nearly burnt down?

“I know, it’s strange...a-and one of them even leaned in and added to trust the rust…” Spottedleaf shook her head in confusion. “Do you know what this might mean?”

“Well, I don’t this Starclan would encourage us to set Riverclan on fire, or to give them tetanus…” While her tone was joking, her expression was thoughtful. “I suppose we’ll just have and see.”


	2. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rusty applies to an extremely competitive boarding school that mostly accepts legacies. But, when he arrives, he realizes not everything is as it seems.

It was a quiet, spring day when Rusty made up his mind about switching schools. After that day, his decision never wavered; not even when his parents and his best friend, Smudge, questioned why. 

“You don’t want to go into seventh grade together?” Smudge had whined, pouting like he always did. He and Smudge had done everything together since birth, and this was the first time Rusty was straying from the beaten path.

Truthfully, public school had gotten boring for Rusty. He was tired of the same routine, and he knew it wouldn’t prepare him for college. He may have only been a child, but he saw how low the graduation rate was, how low the college acceptance rate was, how low the employment rate was. Rusty didn’t want any of that.

His parents were almost impressed with his stubborn refusal to go to their local middle school for another year. They begrudgingly agreed to do some research into boarding schools, even though it meant he’d be living away from home for most of the year. They finally stumbled upon Thunderclan Boarding School: an exceptional K-12 school that helps kids succeed in all areas of life. 

His parents were instantly hooked. Sure, there were three other schools just like it, but ThunderClan was the closest, and it looked the fanciest. Slowly warming up to the idea, Jake, his father, set up an interview with the school right away. They spent the last few days leading up to the interview picking out an outfit, discussing what to say, what not to say, and practicing good interview etiquette. The day of, Jake dropped Rusty off in front of the towering school; Rusty shivered when he walked through its main doors, the chill of the school’s shadow enough to make him want to turn away. 

When he entered the interview room, he wasn’t greeted by any adults. Instead, he found that a high school sophomore with a long, golden mullet and a boy about his age awaited him, both sitting in separate, plush chairs. 

“Welcome. There’s no need to be nervous. Come, sit.” While he couldn’t have been older than sixteen, the sophomore’s voice was deep and soothing as he gestured to the open chair in front of him.

“Hi! My name’s--”

“Graypaw,” the sophomore shot a stern glance at the other child, “let’s let our guest settle in, shall we?” As Rusty sat down, the junior pulled a clipboard out from his bag, clicking a pen and writing something on the sheet attached. 

“What’s your name?”

“Well, everyone calls me Rusty…”

“I’m sorry, but we don’t believe in that here. Nicknames are against the rules, you see. What’s your _real_ name?”

“F-Firepaw…”

“Firepaw, I see. This is Graypaw, and I’m Lionheart. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Lionheart flashed another compassionate smile, pausing before continuing. “Graykit is here to watch the interview process.”

“Oh, was he recently accepted too?”

“Not quite…” Lionheart trailed off in thought. “You see, we do things a bit differently here. Most of our students are legacies of past students. Children of those who have attended before. Graypaw, here, is the son of two of our esteemed alumni.”

Rusty’s brow furrowed. Was he still going to get in, even if he wasn’t a legacy? 

“Don’t worry,” Lionheart continued, picking up on his anxieties, “outsiders are still considered. They’re just...rarely admitted.”

Rusty nodded, straightening his shoulders and trying his best to maintain eye contact. He was determined to make a good impression.

“A few things you should know about this school...” Lionheart sighed, crossing one leg over the other. “...it’s primarily student-run, despite what others may tell you. Our school has a class president who oversees orders of business, and while our subjects are taught by adults, no further administration is involved beyond that.”

“What about StarClan?” Graypaw chimed in.

Lionheart hushed the child. “We do have _an_ administration board, though they speak to very few students. Said students are advised to only report their messages to the class president, and rumor has it the messages are quite cryptic and strange.” Lionheart shrugged. “Do you follow?”

Rusty forced himself to nod, though he could feel his anxiety welling. Cryptic administration? Student-run? Was he really cut out for this life?

His fear only grew when he saw the door burst open, an angry woman storming through it. 

“Lionheart, we--oh, my apologies, am I interrupting something?” The woman smiled down at Rusty, though her smile was small and tight. 

“Ah, what a surprise! Firepaw, this is our class president, Bluestar. Bluestar, I was just interviewing Firepaw.” Lionheart raised his eyebrows at her, and she nodded knowingly. 

“You’re the public school boy, aren’t you?” Rusty nodded silently. Bluestar stuck out her hand, “it’s nice to meet you, Firepaw. What do you think so far?”

“Well, it’s-it’s wonderful,” Rusty kicked himself for stuttering, though he couldn’t help himself. It felt as though Bluestar was staring into his soul! “I would be honored to attend.”

“Good, good.” Bluestar turned her gaze towards Lionheart, “have you told him about the fights?”

“Ah, yes--Firepaw, ThunderClan Boarding School had a reputation for getting into fights with its sister schools, RiverClan, ShadowClan, and WindClan. Though, I assure you, the fights are never lethal, and the wonderful academics and social environment more than make up for it.” The nervous glance Lionheart shared with Bluestar suggested otherwise. 

“Yes, yes. It’s wonderful here.” 

“Isn’t it?” She forced a smile. “While the fights here aren’t that dangerous, I...I wouldn’t recommend applying unless you’re prepared to fight. It’s an important skill to have, Firepaw, knowing how to defend yourself. Especially here.” After a moment of silence, Bluestar looked between the two of them. “Apologies, I’ll let the two of you finish up.” She hurried out of the room and shut the door quietly. Rusty, after watching Bluestar leave, turned around to face Lionheart again. 

“So,” He smiled, “do you have any questions?”

“How was the interview, kiddo?” Jake asked, running a hand through Rusty’s red hair as he climbed into the car.

Rusty shrugged. He wasn’t sure if he was up for going to the school after all, especially considering they were known for getting into _fights._ Was he really the fighting type of guy? 

However, his application was already in. He just needed to trust Lionheart and believe that the school was good enough to make the fighting worth it. In order to appease his dad, Rusty just nodded. 

“It was fine. It was a lot of rambling, I guess.”

“Well, here’s hopin’ you get in!”

 _Yeah,_ Rusty thought, _here’s hoping._

It wasn’t long before a thick envelope holding the decision arrived at Rusty’s house. When it arrived, Rusty went and found his father, and they opened it together. They both let out a shriek when they opened it: Jake of excitement and Rusty of fear. _Congratulations; Welcome to ThunderClan!_ Was written across the top of the enclosed sheet of paper, and upon dumping out the other contents of the envelope, Rusty found that they had mailed him plenty of ThunderClan keychains, a T-shirt, and even a hoodie. The months following his acceptance all felt like a blur; he was so wrapped up in getting dorm supplies, filling out forms, and picking out classes that he hardly had time to register what was really going on. 

That is, until his father sat him down at the kitchen table one rainy June night.

"Russ..." for the first time, Rusty could see how thin had father had gotten. When he smiled, his cheekbones seemed to protrude out an unnatural amount. "...I got a call from the doctors this morning. You see..." 

Rusty could feel his fear growing: Jake hardly ever stumbled over his words. 

"I've got cancer." He sighed wearily, his hands coming to cover his eyes. "Pancreatic. I thought you should know before you head off to school."

"Dad..." Rusty had to blink back tears. "W-Will you be okay? Can they operate on it?" 

"They're gonna try. They said I've got a fighting chance, and that's what matters, right?" Jake rested his hand on Rusty's shoulder, his gaze glossing over, as though he was lost in thought. "Listen, bud. I don't want you worrying about me. This new school...you're gonna meet a whole new family, alright? And wherever I end up, I'll be proud of you. I want you to know that." 

Rusty felt more guilty than ever for having doubts about going to school. He couldn't hold back anymore, and all the tears he'd been trying so hard to hide burst to the surface, and he started crying, heaving in loud, ugly sobs. 

"Aw, kiddo..." Jake stifled a sniffle and ran a hand through Rusty's orange hair. "It's alright. It'll all be okay."

Before he knew it, it was late summer. After many trips to and from the doctor, many days spent in the waiting room while his father underwent surgery, and many days accompanying him to the hospital for chemotherapy, only to be driven home by his aunt, Rusty finally believed that his father was going to make it. He had gained back a bit of weight, and as he drove Rusty to the school, he had a big smile on his face.

"You excited, Russ?"

"Yeah!" He forced himself to sound cheerful for his father.

The school had, thankfully, let Jake assist Rusty in unpacking his things in the dorm, though the students shot him dirty looks as the two walked through the corridors. 

At last, when they stood inside his now-unpacked room, Jake turned away from Rusty’s freshly made bed and looked at his son with watery eyes. 

“Well, kiddo,” Jake smiled as he spoke, “have fun, alright? And if things get too hard, just know you can always stay with me, or aunt--” 

Rusty interrupted his father with a hug, feeling his own tears well up as well. 

“I love you, dad. Thank you.”

Jake smiled softly, hugging his son back. He was too afraid to let go of Rusty, unsure if it would be the last time he'd ever hug him again.

Firepaw had been napping in the dorm, the tears on his pillow just drying when Graypaw kicked the door open with an excited laugh. 

“Hey! I got Public School Boy as my roommate!” Graypaw called out into the hall, presumably to some other friends. “Do you want to come and meet him?” He paused for a moment, staring out into the hall. “Aw, why not? Sandpaw, I thi--”

“I’d like to meet the sucker.” A larger boy, presumably a sophomore, strode towards the room and knocked Graypaw out of the way, barging his way through the door frame. Rusty was just barely awake at this point.  
“Hello,” Rusty began drowsily, “I’m Ru--Firepaw.” It was hard, but he realized that he’d have to start going exclusively by that name.

“Firepaw, huh? You the new kid everyone’s talking about?” When Firepaw nodded, the boy snorted. “You won’t stand a chance here.”

“Longtail, pleas--” Graystripe was cut off when the boy swung his head around and shot him a dirty look, his rat tail swinging at the nape of his neck. “Be _quiet._ You know I’m right.”

“I got in fair and square,” Firepaw shrugged, “is there a problem with me being here?”

“Yeah, actually, there is.” Longtail shot a mischievous glance down towards the sweatshirt Firepaw was wearing. _KITTYPET ELEMENTARY_ was printed across it. “We can’t have you walking around here repping other school’s stuff.”

“But...I met all my friends there. It’s the only school I’ve known.”

Longtail grabbed Firepaw by the arm of the sweatshirt, yanking him out of bed. 

“You intend on keeping those friends, or are you gonna be loyal?” Longtail had managed to wrap his hands around the hood of the sweatshirt; he began to yank on it as hard as he could. 

“No--go away--!” It was no use. Even with Firepaw struggling to get out of Longtail’s grasp, and Graypaw yanking on Longtail’s arms, Firepaw was stuck being strangled by his own hoodie. Eventually, Firepaw let himself go slack, figuring that giving up his childhood was better than dying. Longtail let out a snicker as he slid it off, revealing a dark red t-shirt underneath. 

“Good,” he pulled out a lighter, which _technically_ wasn’t allowed on campus, but because he lent it to Tigerclaw, who was a junior, the upperclassmen made an exception for him. “Now let’s see how well Kittypet Elementary burns, huh?”

Longtail walked into the bathroom adjacent to Firepaw’s dorm, sweatshirt in hand. By now, both high schoolers and middle schoolers have gathered to watch. In order to get a better view, they all hesitantly stepped into Firepaw’s dorm and walked behind Longtail, who was standing next to a flaming sweatshirt in the bathroom sink. 

Seeing Lionblaze, Firepaw shot a helpless glance towards him. Lionblaze simply creased his brow together and shrugged before rubbing Firepaw’s back comfortingly. 

“I know it’s hard,” Lionblaze turned his gaze back to the charred sweatshirt, “but it just means you’re one of us now.”

 _One of us._ Firepaw gulped as the smell of burning fabric began to fill his lungs. He didn’t know if he _wanted_ to be one of them now.


End file.
